Copyright law in New Zealand is currently under the microscope, with a thorough review of the Copyright Act 1994 being undertaken by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). MBIE consulted on an issues paper in 2019, which resulted in 148 submissions on a range of copyright issues – many of which go to the heart of recent developments in technology – such as:

Treatment of data and compilations

Online infringement, pirate websites and liability of internet service providers

MBIE says it is analysing the many issues raised during consultation. This will help inform the development of a paper setting out potential options for change to the copyright regime. We expect this to be released this year and will continue our updates as the review progresses.